“But
whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the
sake of Christ. More than that, I count
all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but
rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a
righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith
in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith….” Philippians 3:7:9
Prior
to coming to Christ, the Apostle Paul had power and position in the Jewish
community. After coming to Christ, Paul was widely
regarded as an enemy by the Jews, the Greeks and the Romans. Almost everywhere he went he encountered
trouble. He was frequently jailed and
beaten.
Yet,
Paul did not long for his former status; Paul relished knowing Jesus as his
Lord. He says everything he lost was rubbish,
when compared to knowing Jesus. In his former life action was demanded from him
in order to have status. In Christ Paul
found righteousness, not in or of himself but through faith in God.
Like
Paul our righteousness is not dependent upon our acquiring big houses or piles
of money. Our righteousness comes
through declaring Jesus as our Lord, Master and Savior.
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